Beyond Lies
by GaleSynch
Summary: AU: When Fugaku's third son, Itachi, fell sick when he was supposed to be competing in the Chunin Exams, the Uchiha Clan head decided to use his last trump card to trounce the Hyuuga's heir and win the bet: his bastard child and sole daughter, Uchiha Sasuke. FemSasu/NaruSasu. Smarter/Foxy Naruto and Cat Sasuke.
1. Arc I — Prologue

**Beyond Lies**

_written by GaleSynch_

_beta'ed by He-Who-Shall-Live_

**Full summary:** AU, When Fugaku's third son, Itachi, fell sick when he was supposed to be competing in the Chunin Exams, the Uchiha Clan head decided to use his last trump card to trounce the Hyuuga's heir and win the bet: his bastard child and sole daughter, Uchiha Sasuke. Fem!Neko!Sasu. Smarter!Foxy!Naruto.

**Genres:** Adventure/Mystery/Suspense/Humor/Romance/Family/Fr iendship.

**Pairings:** Fem!SasuxNaru.

**Warnings:** Gender-bending. Violence. Language.

* * *

**First Arc: Existence.**

**Prologue.**

Nekobaa yawned, taking a long sip from her pipe, releasing her breath and watching as her vision clouded with smoke. It was the only thing she could do these days, in this abandoned village barely known as _Sora-ku_ she kept running for the Uchiha clan in case of emergency.

The only thing she had to look forward to was her granddaughter's birth. She felt giddy thinking about it.

They had already chosen a name: Tamaki. Sweet little Tamaki she would soon (in a few weeks) be able to hold and show off to the cats that often visited her.

Nekobaa smiled up at the starry sky, then at Denki and Hina who were playing with their tails.

"Come on, time to turn in for the night—eh?"

Nekobaa stopped and the ninja cats tensed, fur prickling as they squinted at the newcomer.

Nekobaa blinked.

"Fugaku-chan?" she called, and she grinned when she saw the Uchiha's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"May I enter?" he inquired politely, shifting something in his arms and his Sharingan was darting about wildly, as if assessing for a threat and Nekobaa wondered if he was on some sort of top-secret mission. "I need your help," he confessed the moment he stepped in and Nekobaa had closed the sliding door.

The cat guardian raised an eyebrow.

"Speak," she said despite knowing of the difference in rank between them. Fugaku Uchiha was, after all, the Uchiha Clan head, despite being only in his late-thirties.

Fugaku eyed the place warily.

"Is this area absolutely safe?" he asked, shifting the bundle in his arms which Nekobaa swore she saw wriggle. "No one else here but the cats and you? Are you sure—"

"Yes," Nekobaa interrupted, getting terribly impatient. She was getting old and time wouldn't wait for her. "What is it that you are holding?" she demanded and when Fugaku hesitated again, she snatched the bundle from his hands, too quick for him, as after all, she had trained with cats.

She gasped when she saw the porcelain white skin and navy, almost black hair. The infant gurgled, opening and revealing a dark shade of crimson to the world. There was no doubt this was an Uchiha child but the eyes were the wrong color; and what was an infant doing in an abandoned building far from the celebration of a family?

She glared at Fugaku.

"This... this is a bastard child!" she hissed, handing the baby back. "You can't expect us to raise it!"

"Her," Fugaku corrected angrily, but his face softened when a noise of discomfort came from the infant girl. She shifted in Fugaku's hold, red eyes blinking tears. He jostled her, trying to keep the infant quiet as he scrounged for a way to convince this old hag.

Nekobaa narrowed her eyes when the infant's piercing wails increased in volume.

"What's wrong with her?" Fugaku demanded, confused. "I'd placed a genjutsu on her to shut her up earlier—"

"She's hungry, you dolt," Nekobaa said huffily, pushing herself to her feet and cracking some bones in the process. She glanced at the infant child distastefully. She loved the Uchiha clan and she hated it when people dared to taint the Uchiha name. This infant was nothing but a tarnish to the clan name. "I'll make her some milk." At the questioning look, she elaborated. "My granddaughter, Tamaki would be born soon and I just want to be ready when she comes. With her parents' line of occupation, I'm sure she'd be brought here once in a while for me to babysit as her parents are busy. So, I have some materials your daughter could use."

Fugaku nodded but she saw gratitude shining in his eyes, then he was back to eyeing his daughter.

Nekobaa wondered who the _married_ man's lover was. He must've loved her a lot to take the child away instead of setting her on fire. She didn't miss the way the man's eyes softened considerably when he look at her, as if she was his favorite child. Nekobaa hadn't seen Fugaku gaze at his sons the same way he did his daughter.

She huffed.

Maybe the child would do some good... besides, Tamaki could use a companion.

"So..." Nekobaa heaved a great sigh, deciding that she might as well keep the young girl as a favor for Fugaku. "What's the girl's name?"

Fugaku blinked.

"Kurenai named her Sasuke."

Nekobaa raised a brow.

"You do know that that's a boy's name, right?"

Fugaku shrugged helplessly.

"Kurenai thought she was going to have a boy so she set the name. She died during childbirth and never knew that her child was a girl. Should we rename her?"

"No..." Nekobaa shook her head, gazing into the red eyes darting about wildly, curiously drinking in the new scenery. "Let's not take away her mother's last gift. Even though it is quite inappropriate..."

**-beyond lies-**

Uchiha Sasuke rested her back against one of the boulders surrounding the abandoned place she'd called home—_Sora-ku_—ever since she could remember. She glared out at the cloudy horizon, it would be raining soon and she knew that if she didn't want to get soaking wet, she'd have to go back now.

Sasuke had been raised by cats. Not just any cats, but ninja cats and Nekobaa. She'd been taught to walk about silently, always fall on all fours, quiet and predatory like ninja cats. Sasuke had always been graceful in whatever she did and quietly too.

Being raised by cats, she'd learned their perks.

And getting wet wasn't something either Sasuke or the cats liked.

She hated rainy days, it reminded her of her father too much sometimes. When the man was pissed off at her pranks or some of the cat habit she'd shown—like licking herself, purring, or sniffing something out. She couldn't help herself, Fugaku really should've expected for her to start being like a cat ever the moment he left her with Nekobaa.

That was not to say that he abandoned her.

He visited her often, about half a dozen times a month, and he stayed at _Sora-ku_ sometimes.

Sasuke wasn't lonely even when he wasn't there. She had Tamaki, Nekobaa's granddaughter and the old cat-woman herself. Then there was also the cat shape-shifter, Hisa. Hisa was a very, very old cat—living for five centuries had eventually garnered her the ability to shift into human form.

Sasuke knew she was practically an infant to the five centuries old cat with her mere twelve years of age. But that didn't stop the two females from being friends.

Actually, Hisa was a summon as were the ninja cats. But she lived near the Cat Fortress, she was also their summoner, so she could interact with them whenever she wanted.

Originally, she couldn't understand cat language. But Hisa had given her and Tamaki those cat ears, which translated the cat language to them and made them cats in the ninja cats' eyes.

It was fun to trick them and it was truly the only way to enter Cat Fortress.

"Suki?" a feminine voice called, followed by the sounds of scrapping. Sasuke's enhanced hearing caught the minuscule sound and she knew instantly it was Tamaki. Hisa or the cats wouldn't have made so much (to her anyway) noise.

Sasuke turned, eyebrow twitching at the nickname. "What?"

"It's drizzling," Tamaki said, emerging from the wreckage know as _Sora-ku_. She had her hands on her hips, trying to look as stern as possible to the younger girl. Her tawny eyes were narrowed and her brown hair swayed slightly in the wind. "I came to get you in case you're too busy daydreaming to realize it. And then we'll have to hear your bitching."

Sasuke scoffed, springing to her feet with practiced soundless ease.

"Hn."

Tamaki's eyebrow twitched as she wrestled with the umbrella.

"Don't you _whatever_ me!" Sasuke rolled her eyes, ducking under the umbrella as the first drops of rain prickled her skin.

With the years spent together, Tamaki had learned to interpret Sasuke's Uchiha-language (her father had taught her) which contained about a thousand version of 'hn's and 'huh's. Thanks to it, Tamaki had became a proficient user of Uchiha-language.

"Anyway, Fugaku-san just arrived. He says he wants to see you," Tamaki supplied, quickening her pace to catch up with Sasuke who was quite eager to see her father.

"We're back!" Tamaki announced, sliding the door open and kicking her sandals off; Sasuke having done the same a matter of seconds ago and was already inside.

_What a daddy's girl_, Tamaki thought wryly, rolling her eyes. Even though Sasuke vehemently denied this fact, it was mostly true.

**-beyond lies-**

When parents wanted to see their kids, they would usually holler for the brats to get their asses down, or knock on the door of their room to see them.

For Uchiha Fugaku, it was a different matter entirely.

He had to check his schedule multiple times, clear a few days entirely for 'business trips', and snoop around before he sneaked out of the house. Then he'd have to go through a tedious and long suspenseful journey while watching his back (who knows if his sons are following or if an enemy of a rivaling village spotted him?) and when he finally reached the run-down place, he had to check for traps and cats.

He knew his daughter well enough to set traps to entertain herself as people blow up before her. If he didn't know any better, she was trying to get him killed.

He knitted his brows, glancing impatiently at the clock and wondering when his daughter will be there—

"Yes?"

Had he been a lesser man, the Uchiha would've jumped, but as he was used to his daughter sneaking up on him, he turned calmly, a soft glare on his face as he studied the black-haired girl.

As she grew older, she just resembled her mother more and more. Not a good thing at any rate, it wouldn't do also if she resembled him. Hopefully, when the residents of Konoha saw her, they'd have already forgotten how Kurenai looked like else he was screwed.

When he first saved Sasuke's life, when he took her away to be hidden, he hadn't given much of a thought to her future, what sort of life she'd lived if she lived in a secluded place.

It had seemed like such a small thing when the choices had came down to: die or live.

If people found out Uchiha Fugaku had a bastard child out of the clan, his reputation as a respectable shinobi and faithful husband would go down the drain; he'd lose the trusts of his sons and wife, all of who he dearly loved (but had a hard time expressing himself).

Still, he had to admit, Sasuke was probably his favorite child though her abilities wasn't anything to gasp about when compared to her older half-brothers.

"Sasuke," he said calmly, placing his cup on the table. "Have a seat."

She did so in the blink of an eye; and Fugaku had to suppress a proud smirk. Out of her siblings, Sasuke was undoubtedly the fastest (at their age) and stealthiest. She was also quick-witted, and had a very venomous and sharp tongue. Similar to her oldest brother.

The two other brothers were calmer, quieter and not as fiery, but just as prodigious.

It was nice to have so many prodigious children. How proud he was, though he couldn't brag about his daughter (who was even stealthier and quicker than some Jonin) like he did his sons.

"It's surprising you'll visit in this time of month," Sasuke remarked, ever perceptive and Fugaku chalked it up to her paternal genes. "Didn't you say it was time for the Chunin Exams?"

And Fugaku's good mood at seeing his sole daughter went down the drain.

Sasuke blinked, surprised at the sudden change in mood. "What?"

"Ah... about that," he took a sip of his green herbal tea before he continued, his face pinched with well-concealed worry. "I would like you to join the exams."

"_What_?"

"Here's the problem: I made a bet with that stuck-up Hyuuga asshole of a clan head, that my son will be Chunin in this round of exam. Problem is, Itachi—the one a few months older than you—got the chickenpox."

"And that concerns me, how?" Sasuke tapped her finger repeatedly on the table; she'd heard of Itachi and her older brothers, had seen their pictures and she had to admit, they did looked alike. She especially was similar to this Itachi. "Don't tell me... you want me to _masquerade_ as him?"

Fugaku nodded. As expected of his daughter: smart.

"What sort of idiot couldn't tell that I'm a girl?"

Sasuke did not know that she was already insulting the people who'd be participating the Chunin Exams and watching.

"Genjutsu should cover it up," Fugaku said. "Your mother is very proficient in it. So am I actually, so your genjutsu should be flawless. We'll hide your real looks under layers of genjutsu, you can cast genjutsu in rapid succession, right? You enough like Itachi. No worries."

"...You're just desperate to win, aren't you."

"I am destined to win one way or another, darling. Are you doing it or not?"

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. She didn't want to be a replacement, she'd rather be joining in as herself. She knew about the world of shinobi and how to fight like one courtesy of the ninja cats. She'd read her history books and theories of ninja. She could hold her own in a fight against her father, she was confident in her abilities so it wasn't much of a problem.

And she sorely wanted to see the real world.

Scrutinizing her father, she saw how sincere he was and he was desperate to win against the Hyuuga. She had also read about the long-standing rivalry between their clans and she'd be damned if her clan lost.

"Yes," she grudgingly said, knowing that she was playing right into her father's hands. "What do I have to do?"

**-beyond lies-**

* * *

**Author's Note:**  
Another new story - ah, but it's a Naru/FemSasu - but it's to compensate for Felo de Se which is coming to an end. As usual, many thanks to my beta for this. I have a few other new stories planned - all Naru/FemSasu - and if this receives well, I'll just post more! I have the next chap of this story ready already, just dunno if I should post it together... O.o

So, yeah...

**QUESTION:** Do you prefer to see some Uchihacest?

**REVIEW!**


	2. Arc I — Chapter I : Tazuna

**Beyond Lies.**

_written by GaleSynch_

_beta'ed by He-Who-Shall-Live_

**Full summary:** AU, When Fugaku's third son, Itachi, fell sick when he was supposed to be competing in the Chunin Exams, the Uchiha Clan head decided to use his last trump card to trounce the Hyuuga's heir and win the bet: his bastard child and sole daughter, Uchiha Sasuke. Fem!Neko!Sasu. Smarter!Foxy!Naruto.

**Genres:** Family/Adventure/Romance/Friendship/Drama.

**Pairings:** Fem!SasuxNaru.

**Warnings:** Gender-bending. Violence. Language.

**Disclaimer:** I **OWN **nothing! This series belongs to Kishimoto-sensei, I'm just borrowing his characters for entertainment purposes.

* * *

**First Arc: Existence.**

**Chapter 1: Tazuna.**

Sasuke blinked, staring at herself in the mirror and despite knowing that with her genjutsu and Fugaku's combined, there was no way anyone could tell she was not Itachi, she was impressed.

Now, she really looked like the boy in the pictures. Sasuke was pissed at Itachi though she had never met him before. Because of him, to make the genjutsu easier and realistic, she had to cut her hair till it was the same length as his. The prominent lines of his face were drawn on with the cat-dresser, Nanami's help. She was truly a great artist, having had made the lines as real as possible.

Sasuke had to bandage her chest just in case, fortunately, her size wasn't as big as her mother's when she saw her age so it wasn't too torturous. The shape of her face was similar enough to Itachi's but her eye color and shape were too different.

She and Fugaku tweaked those, pushing on many layers of genjutsu.

It was foolproof, her looks and the genjutsu.

The problem: her mannerism.

She couldn't walk like a boy, couldn't walk like Itachi could. Sure she was silent and graceful, but Itachi's steps were not as girlish as hers; his hips definitely did not sway when he walked like Sasuke's did, Fugaku said.

Memorizing everyone's names he knew and their mannerism drove Sasuke up the wall. She could only name and remember her half-brothers' personality, Itachi's mother, a handful of cousins, teammates and closest friends. The rest were but a blur and she'd end up glaring at Fugaku when he asked her a question she couldn't answer.

Sasuke hated it when she disappointed her father.

Fugaku sighed, placing the album down and massaging his forehead to stem the pain behind his eyes.

"If only you have the Sharingan..." he mumbled but Sasuke's sharp ears caught it anyway.

She scowled, hurt. "Yeah," she responded bitterly. "After all, I'm not an Uchiha. How could I ever have the Sharingan?"

"No!" Sasuke stared at her father, wondering what had brought on such a large outburst. Fugaku took a trembling breath, pressing his palms flat on the surface of the table. "No, you are an Uchiha, Sharingan or no Sharingan, you're still my daughter."

Sasuke stared at her father in awe, then, due to the lack of experience in this sort of things, blurted out, "Since when did you care—"

The _shoji_ slid open with a loud and intentional screech. Sasuke exhaled in relief when she registered Hisa's and Tamaki's presence. Sasuke, unfortunately though she had acknowledged it, was an insensitive prick—she learned this when she called Tamaki an ugly monkey and the brunette was pissed at her for a week—and tended to say the wrong things all the time.

Hisa walked in first, graceful, her two tails swaying as she settled down by Sasuke's side, a mild glare thrown her way. She nodded politely to Fugaku, her pin-straight white hair (which was tied in twin pigtails) sliding bobbing as she did so. Her slitted blue eyes were assessing and cool, old and wise from age and experience.

Despite bearing the body of a young fifteen-year-old girl, who looked like she could be blown away by a mild breeze, Sasuke knew first-hand how powerful the two-tailed cat was. The bruises, broken bones, and scars were more than enough proof.

Someday, Sasuke swore she'd kick Hisa's ass, as payback for all the injuries she had to suffer. Imagining the revenge she would get once she got stronger...

Nekobaa trailed in after Tamaki, closing the sliding door and taking a seat across Fugaku, she had a disapproving glare on her face.

"I do not approve of involving Suki-chan into your idiotic bet, Fugaku-chan," the old hag said sternly, eyes narrowed. Her voice was raspy and old, reminding Sasuke of dry sandpaper rubbing against one another. Needless to say, her voice wasn't very nice. "She's never even seen the real world of shinobi."

Sasuke seethed, incensed. "Are you implying I can't be a good shinobi as my brothers?" she snarled angrily. She whirled on her father, slamming her fist down on the table—an audible crack could be heard—and snarled. "Let's go, I don't care where and when this stupid Exam is held—"

"Sasuke-chan," Tamaki tried, fanning the taller girl with a fan, wincing when red eyes spun to glare at her. "Calm down," she said. "You're scaring everyone."

"I hate it when you underestimate me!"

"We're not," Hisa inserted, trying to placate the Uchiha girl but, to no one's surprise, it failed to do anything. "We're just concerned—"

"One way or another," the Uchiha growled. "I'll get the Sharingan even if I have to claw one of my brothers' eyes out."

**-beyond lies-**

"We'll stop here," Fugaku announced, and the girls nodded.

Tamaki and Hisa obediently set to making camp, starting fire and the sorts, already starting to cook dinner. But Sasuke was scowling, upset as she sat isolated from the rest of them.

Fugaku hated it when she looked so sullen, he didn't like that any of his precious people were unhappy even though he wanted to tell them to get over themselves and stop worrying others.

He could tell that to his sons, all more mature and way past this phase, but Sasuke had always been pampered by him. Telling her that would make things harder and she might just storm away all together.

He approached her, and it still made him impressed with himself when he saw Itachi's face looking up at him. He knew he was that awesome, no one needed to say anything, really.

"Sasuke," he called when she glared and turned away. "I need to talk to you." He patted the spot next to him when she scooted away. "Sit closer."

"Hn."

"Fine, do it your way," Fugaku was too mature to argue with a child, especially his own daughter. He knew the girl was too much like him: stubborn and prideful, to ever admit their wrongdoing, apologize or obey orders. "Are you still upset about earlier?" he asked.

"Hn."

He nodded. "What Nekobaa said was mostly true. You've never seen the real world of shinobi," When Sasuke turned to him, hundred of protests at the tip of her tongue, he held up his hand for silence. "Ah, but, I believe you can learn. The Exams would be good for you. You'll just compete in the first and second round. The third round will most likely be held a month after the first two phases, by then, Itachi would be ready and he'd have no more need for a doppelganger."

"So I'm being used and then throw away," Sasuke commented bitterly, red eyes alight with fire as she gazed at the fire Tamaki had started and was now stoking. "Right."

"No!" She glared at him sullenly. "I mean, you're just... my last trump card," he mumbled.

Sasuke scoffed but she let the topic drop; her red eyes scanned the area. "Where are we anyway?"

"The Land of Waves," Fugaku answered, tempted to say _how can you not know_ but since his daughter sucked badly at geography, he chose not to say anything lest that sparked an argument.

"I'll go take a look around."

"Don't go too far!" Hisa called from where she was eavesdropping shamelessly. "Not too long—dinner's almost ready!"

"...Hn."

**-beyond lies-**

Even though it was bad for the eyes to read in the dark, Sasuke did anyway. Her fiery eyes scanned the scroll; apparently, her father wanted to teach her all this, these were jutsu Itachi already knew and was expected to use.

She grimaced. Why did she agree to this in the first place?

Oh, right. Because she wanted to see the real world and she couldn't possibly say no to her father after all that he'd done for her.

Sasuke scowled. She hated being used, like a pawn to win the game. Sasuke was tempted to rip into the nearest tree to vent her anger. She seethed, crossing her arms, glaring down at the paper, wishing that by just reading it over, she'd be able to magically learn the jutsu she wanted—

Her ears prickled.

Her instincts screamed and she ducked, rolling out of the way and coming up on all fours, like a cat.

Identical dark chuckles came from all around her. But Sasuke was not fooled, she concentrated, her ears twitched and she caught it: the sounds came from the puddle and she lunged.

"**Neko no Te**!"

Her nails extended into sharp claws, perfectly suitable to claw and disrupt the surface of the puddle and as she expected, the shade dispelled and when she whirled around, she was faced with four men.

"A little girl in the middle of the forest," one of them cooed. "Aw, is someone lost?"

"No," Sasuke hissed; momentary panic flitting in that her genjutsu was undone but then she realized the men were making a jab at Itachi's gender and girlish long hair, her anger and panic ebbed. "But someone's going to lose his face."

Each side knew the start of a battle. For simplicity's sake, Sasuke nicknamed the one wielding a chain Idiot#1 and the other could take the name Idiot#2 and so on—these losers were going to regret ever messing with her.

The men surrounded her, on both sides, chains forming a circle around her. She suspected that they wanted to catch her and slice her head off; she scoffed, like she was going to just stand there and let them. Just as metal came in the briefest contact with her skin, she jumped, twisted in midair just for flair and landed on Idiot#1's shoulders.

She only had a split second to think: kill or not to kill?

_In the world of shinobi, it's either kill or be killed, Sasuke_, Hisa's tired and wise voice echoed through her mind. Sasuke elbowed the man's head, hard enough to knock him out and she jumped, delivering a swift kick to the other stunned man's face. She hooked her shirt with her claws, grabbed the knocked-out loser and drug them to a nearby tree.

Then she turned to meet the other two.

Only to see a kunai flying top-speed her way. She ducked, avoiding the hail of deadly kunai. A whip crackled and Sasuke felt stinging pain on her forearm. The wind around her changed directions abruptly and she barely dodged the next hit.

She cursed, realizing with dawning horror that she couldn't keep up with the movements. She circled around the two men, licking her lips as she contemplated her options. She'd walked quite a ways from camp and she didn't know if they were aware of this threat.

She didn't get much time to think though as the men lunged.

Whip and senbon synchronizing pressed her back; Sasuke could only deflect so much with her claws but as she swapped more and more away, with increasing accuracy, she realized something: she could see the movements.

She ducked, diving closer, and when her eyes met the man's, she heard him inhale sharply, a word whispered as if it was a curse: "Sharingan..."

Her eyes widened but she twisted her body out of the way as a kunai made to nick her eyes out. She grabbed his neck, and without much thought, twisted harshly.

The sickening crack and how he slumped without the support of her hand told her that he was most likely dead. Sasuke stared at the man, her first kill before she turned to meet the whip-wielding shinobi.

With her newly awakened Sharingan—she was ecstatic, never mind that she'd just killed someone (Father proud versus Life of an enemy, it was obvious which option was more appealing to her)—she weaved her way around the whip's attacks easily, finally seeing how clumsy the man wielded the weapon and she stepped in close, clawing his throat out.

Blood splattered onto her face but she just wiped it off, not at all repulsed.

Sasuke turned to where she saw the unconscious man and the trembling one who'd just wet himself in terror. She smirked, kicking the man back into the tree trunk, before she realized she had no rope to tie them down.

Well... she could use genjutsu and trick them into thinking she had them tied... Assuming they couldn't tell. Behind her back, her fingers formed the quick and necessary hand seals.

When she was done, she crouched, her extended claws, bloodied, gleaming under the moonlight.

"All right, trash, talk, who sent you here and why are you after me?" The man pressed his lips into a thin line and Sasuke hissed, very close to his ear as she brandished her claws. "Spit it or I'll claw your face off, torture you with genjutsu, dig your eyeballs, grind your balls to dust and—

"You're Uchiha Itachi," the man stuttered, swallowing thickly. "W-we're sent here to test the participants of the Chunin Exams! See whether they're qualified or not!"

Her father didn't mention this shit. She narrowed her eyes. "And did I pass?" she demanded, voice low.

The man nodded, eyes wide with fear and Sasuke pulled back, though she kept a close eye on the man. She scanned the area, adrenaline rushing when she realized how clearly she could see, the details were amazing she she'd never been so proud to be an Uchiha.

The thought of being repulsed at the act of killing didn't hit her at all.

She was proud, in fact.

She'd gained her Sharingan, she'd proven herself competent enough to down four men.

"I'll let you live," she chuckled maliciously. "so that someday, everyone will be reminded of the first kills of Uchiha Sasuke."

**-beyond lies-**

"I'll go get her," Tamaki offered when Sasuke didn't show up even after fifteen minutes of waiting. "The soup's getting cold. You guys eat up first while I go—"

"Wait," Hisa said, holding out a hand to stop Tamaki; she sniffed the air, alarmed. "I smell blood, signs of battle."

Fugaku pursed his lips but didn't seem too concerned. "I believe Sasuke is competent enough to handle a few measly shinobi."

"She's never been in a real battle before, Uchiha-san," Hisa said coldly. The Uchiha may look older than her, but she was still older and she never let anyone touch_ her_ kittens. "Tamaki, stay here," she ordered the civilian girl and stood, facing the path Sasuke had taken earlier.

But she needn't bothered because a few seconds after, Sasuke emerged.

Rust stained her cheek and her hands dripped with blood, but she had a cold smirk, a sign of her victory.

"You seem happy," Hisa remarked, ignoring Tamaki's gasp. Tamaki was a gentle girl who had no wish to delve into the life of a shinobi, seeing blood probably wasn't something she adored. Hisa was simply used to it, her days as a summon and killing others for her summoner... "What did you achieve?"

And before their very eyes, Sasuke's iris swirled into a tomoe.

Fugaku saw, and smirked.

"As expected of my daughter."

**-beyond lies-**

"This place looked even worse than home," Sasuke remarked bluntly the moment she set eyes on the small, run-down and poor village.

Hisa barely glanced up from the map.

"Just endure a little longer," she said. "Just one night and we'll be out of this place, straight to Kiri."

Sasuke wrinkled her nose in distaste but refrained from complaining when her father gave her _the look_. "I don't think this place has an inn," she remarked idly. The little group of four walked around the village, slapping away the hands of pickpockets and resisting from grimacing at the ugly sight as they made their way around the poor village.

"This place is shit," Sasuke smirked coldly, cruelly amused.

Fugaku stared his daughter down; she wore Itachi the Pacifist's face, had his voice and it was unnerving for Fugaku to hear that. "Sasuke," he called to get her attention and she turned—Itachi's face blinked up earnestly at him and he stemmed down the discomfort. "It would be appreciated if you refrain from making such comments when you're in disguise as Itachi."

She blinked.

"Oh... so he doesn't act like this?" she sounded confused, as if she couldn't believe Uchiha didn't act like she did.

Fugaku pursed his lips in thought. "No, Itachi is impassive and apathetic to the suffering, he only makes useful statements, and he rarely jokes. He also finds no joy in the pain of others and doesn't make assumptions without proof."

"So, an emotionless bastard is who I'm impersonating," Sasuke mused but her smirk dropped when she saw someone approaching them.

"Incoming," Hisa muttered under her breath as she straightened, her tails begging to be let out under the cloak she'd donned. Her icy blue eyes narrowed even further when she saw the drunk old man. "What do you want, sir?" she asked coolly when he stopped before them, panting for breath as he'd been running.

"M- whew... My name is Tazuna, ninja-san," the old drunkard said, bowing before straightening. "and, I need your help."

"No," Hisa answered flatly before any of the Uchiha or Tamaki could say anything. She didn't want to let those... those rather abnormal people to answer; Fugaku would most likely offer a long-winded speech for an explanation as to why they couldn't offer their assistance, Tamaki would ask too many questions, and Sasuke might offer a few cruel remarks and her opinions to better this place. "We're rather busy at the moment, I'm afraid."

"It won't take long," the man pleaded, grey eyes darting from all of them, lingering especially longer on the Uchiha. "Please? It isn't for me alone. It's for this whole village."

Tamaki frowned, ever the curious one and asked, "Oh? How so?"

"I'm a bridge builder, and I'm building a bridge to connect this village to the mainland."

Sasuke blinked, starting to take an interest but she refrained from showing any emotion since Itachi wasn't such a guy to display his emotions—Sasuke had the sinking feeling her face would be terribly stiff and she might need clay to stop her from smirking or frowning or sneering.

"We're under the control of Gato, but if we could complete the bridge without hindrances, we'd be free of his tyranny—"

"You expect us to protect you for the duration you build the bridge," Fugaku finished, tone flat. He cleared his throat. "Unfortunately, we are not—"

"Please, sir! The village and its villagers are suffering—what would all of you do if it was your village?"

"Die with them."

"Leave and start a new life."

"Konoha is the strongest ninja village, as if it'd fall."

"...Hunt down the man responsible."

Hisa suppressed a smile of amusement when she saw the human's jaw dropped. Taking pity on him, she said, "Excuse us—"

"Wait," Tazuna tried again, stepping in front of Hisa when she attempted to go the other way. "We'll pay you, really."

"Are you even fit to pay our requested fees?" Sasuke demanded, furrowing her eyebrows before catching herself and forcing her face into a blank mask, instead of her usual scowl of doom. "Overthrowing a corporation is usually a B to A rank mission, that's more than tasking for this village."

"We'll find a way, please—if you don't help, I'll be killed, and my daughter will forever curse Konoha ninja and my grandson will keep crying for his grandfather!"

Hisa's eyebrow twitched at the show of melodramatics. She was accustomed to death and the losses one suffered, she felt mere indifference but she didn't think her human companions were as immune as such a pleading as it was to her.

Fugaku frowned deeply, like he was considering but Hisa figured he cared more about his reputation than he did this village, and if they delayed here, they might not be able to make it in time for the Chunin Exams. Tamaki's eyes were bright with tears of pity and Hisa prepared herself for an onslaught of pleading to help the 'poor old man'. Hisa glanced at Sasuke who was now openly interested. Evidently, the girl found opposing a large corporation interesting.

Hisa sighed. "What do you want us to do?"

Tazuna beamed.

"We can only stay for so long," Fugaku inserted dubiously, glaring down at the old man who just laughed heartily and waved for them to follow him.

**-beyond lies-**

"I have to admit, so far, it's very exciting," Tamaki said, giggling as the girls got ready for bed—not a single change in their sleeping schedule. "First, I got to show both Sasuke and Hisa around the outside world and we're going to be heroes of this village!"

Hisa pursed her lips in annoyance. "What makes you think we'll succeed?" she asked quietly, smoothing out her blanket before crawling under it, mewling in contentment at the heat it provided.

"Why are you so negative?" Tamaki pouted at Hisa, who ignored her.

"I'm being realistic," the cat-girl replied earnestly. Having spent half an eon watching humans repeat the same mistakes and how things always went wrong in a well-laid plan, she had learned to not hope for the best, but expect the worse instead and be prepared for it. This was a lesson Hisa spent years teaching to Tamaki and Sasuke; unfortunately, only Sasuke seemed to believe her while Tamaki was in the full optimistic personality which was a typical for civvies.

"Who's guarding the bridge tomorrow?" Sasuke interjected before a full-out verbal war could break out. She glared subtly at the mirror, having to maintain the Itachi-genjutsu even when she was asleep—her father told her it was extra training but she called it bullshit and troublesome, she knew he just wanted payback for causing him so much trouble when she was younger. "Father and I will be too busy training, he says I'm not exactly Itachi enough yet."

Tamaki shot her a sympathetic glance.

"I suppose it'd just be me and Hisa. It's not like anything could go wrong."

"It could," Hisa added sourly, unable to comprehend why Tamaki look at every bright side of a matter. "There's an unknown amount of enemies, there might be extremely skilled ninja we do not know about. With the money that despicable human has, I'm sure it won't be too much for him to hire someone from the Bingo Books."

Tamaki felt like arguing that her friend really should brighten up, but seeing Sasuke's yawn and Hisa's scowl, she wisely chose to back down. The years spent with the other girls had her learning that it would be best if one of them yielded easily. Tamaki had valiantly stepped up for the honor; Sasuke had too much Uchiha blood and Hisa believed her to be too old to bow down.

"Good night, girls."

"Hn."

"Night."

**-beyond lies-**

It was at the crack of dawn that Fugaku knocked on the girls' door, loudly. He was tempted to sneak in to test their skills but he thought better of it. Hisa was too skilled, experience gained from centuries of battle, Sasuke was too perceptive and Tamaki was too sensitive to chakra. All in all, the girls were excellent in their tracking skills.

Hisa could smell something miles away, Sasuke's eyes could pick up on everything, her sight even more enhanced now by the Sharingan, and Tamaki was a natural born chakra-sensor. Fugaku had to admit, they made a good team, too bad Tamaki chose to be a civilian with formal training and Hisa was a summon who didn't like humans much.

"We're decent!" Itachi's voice answered. Fugaku's sleep-addled mind was puzzled for a moment (what on earth was his son doing here?) before his mind started working and he opened the door.

"Did you keep the genjutsu up all night?"

"She scared us," Tamaki grouched and Fugaku saw the tiny twitch of his daughter's lips; good, even her smile and mannerism were starting to resemble Itachi. Those two half-siblings might be more similar than they thought. "I woke up to a boy's face and I nearly screamed. Would have screamed," she corrected herself scathingly. "if she hadn't been holding a hand over my mouth. I thought I was about to be raped!"

Sasuke scoffed, dropping the act for a moment. "Please, who would want you?"

"Sasu—Itachi!"

"Enough," Hisa snapped, placing herself between the two and herding them towards the door. "I presume breakfast's fixed, yes?" she glanced at Fugaku who nodded.

It was strange to talk to Hisa sometimes, her young form always failed to remind him that she was, technically, older than he was. Far, far, older than his age and Konoha combined. He didn't know whether he should be flattered, insulted or in awe. He decided on indifference.

"So..." Tazuna cleared his throat awkwardly which surprised Tamaki, she didn't think he had any humility. "Who's going to guard the bridge with me today?"

"Me and Hisa," Tamaki replied. Seeing Tazuna's curious look at Sasuke and Fugaku, she added, "They're going to train for the upcoming Chunin Exams."

Tsunami, Tazuna's beautiful daughter, approached them at the moment, setting a cup of tea before Fugaku who took it with a polite thanks. She blinked. "Isn't it supposed to be held in two weeks?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yes, which is why we need to train and that this bridge won't be taking longer than two weeks."

"If we keep up our current progress," Tazuna said, grinning from ear to ear which irked Hisa—she wasn't a morning person and she couldn't stand people like them. "we'll be wrapping it up and kicking Gato out in a week."

"May we stay for as long as we like even after the bridge is finished?" Fugaku asked suddenly, eliciting a few baffled blinks from their host. Evidently, they didn't think anyone—especially the clan head and heir to the Uchiha clan—would want to stay an extended period of time than intended at their run-down house.

"Uh, sure," Tazuna laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "But, um, why?"

"We need a place to stay as I train my son," Fugaku answered, taking a sip from his cup, ignoring Sasuke's sulking eyes from across the table. Truly, his daughter was as lazy as cats, he couldn't have that; she wouldn't win with that sort of attitude and she still needed to learn more about Itachi and improve her act.

"Training," someone snorted from the doorway to their right, prompting everyone at the dining table to turn and look at the speaker. Fugaku's face didn't betray an ounce of emotion as he studied the scrawny dark haired and eyed child, the child's face contorted in a condescending sneer and bitterness darkened his eyes. "What's the point if you're going to die anyway?"

"Inari!" Tsunami snapped. "What did I tell you about respecting guests? These kind shinobi here are helping us to free this village and make our lives better, be nice to them," she huffed. "Come here and seat down, Inari, I'll scramble some eggs for you."

Inari snorted. "No thanks, mum." He glared balefully at the girls and the middle-aged man. "Hmph. If you ask me, there's nothing impressive at all about a little girl, a chick who hides under a cloak, a pussy with a ponytail and an old man who looked like he might break his back with the slightest of movements."

True to her Itachi persona, Sasuke remained calm on the outside, taking another sip from her cup to calm herself even though she wanted to hurl the teapot in the brat's face. She knew the brat wasn't insulting her directly, but he insulted her friends and father and she wouldn't tolerate such a petulant behavior!

Hisa didn't bother with glares, remaining unaffected while Tamaki spluttered indignantly. Fugaku, on the other hand, looked like he might spit a fireball in the brat's face.

"Inari!" Tsunami yelled, face flushed as she snatched her son's arm in an iron grip. "What is wrong with _you_?"

Inari snatched his arm back, scowling heavily. "They won't be any of help to us! They'll just die like everyone who opposes Gato! There's not heroes in this world and they're—"

"Listen you slimy little _brat,"_ Sasuke spat, forgetting all about Itachi, too pissed and she was seeing red. "We're here because _your_ grandfather begged us. He did it for the sake of his daughter and his grandson, and you're spitting in the face of his sacrifice, you little coward. You're the only one here who's afraid of dying, not us. We're not playing heroes, we're _ninja_—and people like us don't give two shits about saving, we only _kill_."

Tamaki stared in shocked silence at her friend. This was the first time she heard her friend say so much to a complete stranger. Even Fugaku looked flabbergasted at his daughter's actions, anger momentarily forgotten.

Sasuke stood, glaring coldly, her Sharingan spinning into existence with just one_ tomoe _for effect.

"Let's go, we have things to do other than cower in fear in our rooms," she sneered and stormed out of the house.

**-beyond lies-**

"Let's do this," Sasuke snarled, enraged as she faced off with her father in a clearing.

Fugaku frowned. Even though he found his daughter's anger to be justified and it was helping her motivation, he didn't like her pretty face contorting into one of hate. He knew how easy it was to be consumed by it. He had been too, four years ago where he'd been so enraged at the treatment the Uchiha's were getting and was all for a coup.

It was only thanks to Sasuke's innocence, and his concern about her future, and Hisa's old, experienced and wise opinion that he managed to find a way around the problem the Uchiha were having with Konoha.

"Sasuke, calm down."

"I am calm!" she protested, glaring but when Fugaku met her eyes evenly, she scowled and turned away, breathing deeply before exhaling, trying to calm herself. "Fine," she said finally. "Can we start now?" He nodded but before he could so much as open his mouth, his daughter interjected. "How do I gain the other two tomoes?"

Fugaku pursed his lips in thought. "I gained mine in war. Some of your cousins gained a full-fledged Sharingan on their first activation. It is different for every Uchiha. But the most common way to gain a tomoe is to use it constantly and keep adapting to situations. It helps to be in danger or desperation."

"I don't suppose you'll go easy on me," Sasuke remarked dryly, settling into one of the Uchiha taijutsu styles. "Bring it, old man, I'm ready."

And she lunged. "**Neko no Te**!"

"Sasuke, stop!"

Not one minute into their spar and her father demanded her to stop; Sasuke scowled petulantly. "What now?" she demanded, annoyed.

"Uchiha do not use claws in battle," Fugaku pointed out with a sigh, tapping his daughter's claws for emphasis and he watched as she reverted them back to the normal fingernails. "It seems you are unused to using only your bare hands. This is an aspect I will have to train you and you better get used to it."

Sasuke sighed.

Maybe this wasn't as great as she'd first assumed.

**-beyond lies-**

* * *

**QUESTION:** What is your OTP (One True Pairing)?

**ANSWER TO REVIEWS:**

**Gordaime:**  
I will, all my Naruto fics will be NaruFemSasu.

**Black Akuma King:**  
Opinion taken, even though I like seeing Uchihacest. There's so little where Sasuke's a girl.

**Ame no Kagaseo:**  
I chose Kurenai after much thought. I had the opinion that she couldn't hold a liquor and after a drunken night of celebration, well... since she's so pretty as well, I don't think Fugaku can resist. Kurenai would be 30 had she lived.

**MunkieMagic:**  
Ho, nice idea. Maybe I can put a headline or a linebreaker signifying some Uchihacest? The main pairing is still NaruFemSasu, the Uchihacest is just a teaser.

**ExecutionerKain:**  
Thanks!

**natsumefruit:**  
Thanks, there's not much Fem!Neko!Sasu is there? I was tempted to write it especially when I stumble upon a perfect Neko!Fem!Sasu (check out my website to see how she looks like). Nope, Madara's the oldest, second oldest is Izuna and third bro is Itachi. She does have the Sharingan, as you can see here, though I'm still pondering how to give her the Mangekyou.

**Guest:**  
You can just skip the Uchihacest if there is and enjoy the NaruFemSasu! XD

**marze09:**  
Finally! Someone who agrees with me! XD Stay tune, my friend!

**Belldandy55555:  
**Thanks for the review, hope you continue to do so!

**XsamX17:**  
There. The next chap is still in progress.

**Riseha:**  
Another Uchihacest supporter! T^T Hope this is soon enough for ya.

**REVIEW!**

**ƸӜƷ**


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